Tax issues lead state ballot fights

WASHINGTON - From a 50-cent-a-pack cigarette tax hike in California
to a measure giving people veto power over taxes in Montana, voters
in a dozen states will decide a raft of tax questions on Election
Day.

They are occasionally quirky, such as a Georgia proposal to exempt
former prisoners of war from car taxes. Some could surface again
in national politics, notably an Arizona proposition aimed at
building support for elimination of the Internal Revenue Service.

Many of the most substantial proposed changes were placed on Tuesday's
ballots by tax reform organizations determined to reduce government
power over personal pocketbooks.

People in Montana would gain authority to veto most state and
local tax or fee increases if voters approve a constitutional
amendment known as CI-75. The issue is partly driven by a property
reappraisal that could produce a large real estate tax increase.

"Montana's low wage-earning taxpayers have a very heavy burden
on their backs," said Joe Balyeat, an accountant who is state
chairman of Montanans for Better Government. "Adopting a
right to veto taxes would create a more stable environment and
ultimately would lead to a lower tax environment also."

Public employee unions, including Montana teachers, oppose the
issue on grounds that it could threaten necessary government spending
to keep pace with population growth or inflation. But polls give
the measure a good chance of passing.

In South Dakota, a ballot measure would prohibit future use of
property taxes to pay for education. Roughly $357 million in property
taxes went for schools last year, and state lawmakers would be
forced to come up with an alternative source if the constitutional
amendment passes.

Although some school officials fear layoffs and bigger class sizes,
proponents of Amendment A say taxpayers are being strangled by
spiraling property taxes and that the best solution would be to
impose an alternative tax on corporations.

"That is probably the question every farmer, rancher, homeowner,
small-business owner and anyone else who is struggling to pay
their property tax bill should be asking," said Gerald R.
Larson of the Dakota 1 group that is pushing the proposal.

A proposal to eliminate Arkansas property taxes altogether was
struck from the ballot by that state's highest court, which ruled
that supporters improperly circulated petitions necessary to gain
access to the ballot. Proponents vowed to return.

A few ballot measures would raise taxes, none more so than California
Proposition 10, which would boost the state cigarette tax from
35 cents to 85 cents a pack to benefit a range of children and
family programs.

The issue's visibility is higher than usual because it was proposed
by actor-producer-director Rob Reiner and is heavily backed by
Hollywood stars. It has also not escaped the notice of tobacco
companies, which have poured in some $28 million in an effort
to defeat the measure.

A ballot measure in Colorado asks voters to extend an existing
sales tax to pay for a new stadium for the Denver Broncos, winners
of last season's Super Bowl. Among those contributing to the proposal's
campaign: quarterback John Elway, who gave $10,000.

In Arizona, tax reform proponents hope to influence the 2000 presidential
primaries with a ballot initiative that would allow candidates
to say whether they pledge to work toward scrapping the IRS.

The measure would allow candidates for the U.S. House, Senate
and presidency to voluntarily sign such a pledge and then have
the words "Signed the IRS Elimination Pledge" next to
their names on ballots and in voter guides.

The initiative, which has drawn support from House Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Bill Archer, R-Texas, is aimed mainly at forcing
2000 presidential candidates to debate replacing the IRS-run federal
income tax with a national sales tax, a supporter said.

"We have to show the politicians that this is viable,"
said Lori Klein, a Phoenix mother of three and executive director
of Arizonans for Fair Tax Reform. "You can't just do it with
polls. You have to have people actually come out and vote."

The Georgia POW car tax exemption would affect only about 400
veterans, but it would give them the same exemption now enjoyed
by disabled veterans, a Georgia election official said.